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| Bo Tree Growth |
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Jason Buter
Posted on: February 5, 2002
I bought a bo tree from Richters about 8 or 9 months ago. The tree has already grown near 2 feet taller than when I received it, but it leaves me with a problem; the trunk of the tree isn’t strong enough to support the weight of the leaves and it falls over. I am currently using a support to keep it standing tall... but I was wondering if there was anything I could do to facilitate trunk growth, or if this is just something that will pass as the tree matures?
Ficus species often tend to be vine-like when young, especially if grown in low light. Give it as much light as you can, so that it does less "reaching" for light and continue staking it until the trunk becomes more rigid with age. To prevent it from falling over you could put the pot into a wide-bottomed larger overpot and wedge it in place with pieces of wood or gravel.
You might want to cut down on nitrogen fertilizer during the low-light months, to reduce weak succulent growth, that bends too easily.